Bio:

Berthold lived a life of luxury as a child, having been born of noble blood into the influential Lengel family. Eating of the finest food Citadel had to offer, clothed in expensive linens and silks, and respected by nearly everyone in town, Berthold’s only hindrances were found by his royal tutors. Scholars from across Vaynor all met with failure in teaching the boy, and attempts to instill him with propriety and manners worthy of a noble met the same end.

On one particular trip to a neighboring city for education, Berthold’s carriage was stopped on the road by brigands. The nobles were no match for the lucky bandits, and the situation looked grim. As fate would have it, a monk from a nearby temple happened upon the scene, and as Berthold watched from the carriage, the monk single-handedly defeated the cadre of thieves with quick movements and skilled use of a quarterstaff.

Berthold was impressed beyond belief, and made a habit of visiting the Amaranth Monastery as often as his caretakers would permit. The monk that saved the noble train, Brother Loccum, became a mentor to young Berthold. Berthold would explain to his uncle that he visited the monastery for education, but his true intent was to learn Brother Loccum’s style of fighting and defense. As he grew, Berthold learned the adroit techniques of the monks, while learning the traditional swordsmanship of Citadel’s knights. His aptitude for martial training wowed his tutors, as the before-unteachable child showed exceptional skill with weapons of all kinds.

What Berthold didn’t know was that Amaranth Monastery was located on the forefront of the border of the Black Desert and the human lands; with the only entrance a bridge over a rumbling river, the monastery sat atop sheer cliffs on three sides, it held a marvelous tactical position that the Lord High Marshal highly desired as an outpost for the nascent War of the Wastes. Before the onset of the war, the monks were kind and accepting to the Orcs, and often traded with them or healed their wounded. The monks refused to participate in the High Marshall’s war, and would not relinquish their monastery for militaristic endeavors. This angered Lengel, and young Berthold’s affinity for Amarath and Loccum made the acquisition of his fort much more difficult.

As Berthold grew to adulthood, the War of the Wastes entered its third year. Just days after his sixteenth birthday, Berthold heard news of a brutal Orcish assault on Amaranth Monastery. None of the royal guards were able to stop him as he rode full-bore to his mentor. Upon his arrival, he saw the Empire’s 3rd Legion banners from afar. The legionnaire stopped Berthold at the gate, but Berthold heard none of the man’s warnings. He only saw the murdered monks, the half-burned tomes, and (peculiarly) the undamaged walls. Berthold needed no explanation. His uncle had gone too far this time, and Berthold vowed never to return to corrupt city of Citadel again.

Berthold disavowed his nobility and renounced his name, choosing to live a life of anonymity as he discerned what he could do to right the wrongs he saw everywhere around him. While staying in the smaller town of Austen, he overheard rumors of a vigilante named “Black Jack” who was feared by the criminals and held in reverence by the villagers. Though the real “Black Jack” had passed away before the war, Berthold decided to take on the disused moniker and become a vigilante. He hoped to do what he could against the hidden evils in Vaynor, until he found a way to drastically affect the tide of war.